Speed-regulating mechanism for wire winding and like machines



Se t. 7, 1937.

5'. H. RICHARDS 2,092,558 SPEED BEGULATING MECHANISM FOR WIRE WINDING AND LIKE MACHINES Filed Jan. 5, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNVE/VTOH 'Sept. 7, 1937.

s. H. RICHARDS 2,092,558 SPEED REGULATING MECHANISM FOR WIRE WINDING AND LIKE MACHINES Filed Jan. 5, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 m/vsm-on SAMuEL Rwy/mos Sept; 7, 1937. s. H. RICHARDS 2,092,558 SPEED REGULATING' MECHANISM FOR WIRE WINDING AND LIKE MACHINES llllt/ENTOR JAMl/EL 6. 51011400:

' Haa- ATTORNEYS Sept. 7, 1937; s. H. RICHARDS 2,092,558

.SPEED REGULATING MECHANISM FOR WIRE WINDING AND LIKE MACHINES Filed Jan. 5, 19:54 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 1 SAMUEL bf filcfln/ams I ATTORNEYS Sept. 7,1937. s. H. RICHARDS 2,092,558,

SPEED REGULATING MECHANISM FOR WIRE WINDING AND LIKE MACHINES Filed Jan. 5, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Sept. 7, 1937 PATENT OFFICE SPEED-REGULATING MECHANISM FOR WIRE WINDING AND LIKE MACHINES Samuel Hugh Richards, Harpenden, England Application January. 5,

1934, Serial No. 705,369

In Great Britain January 5, 1933 1 Claim.

This invention relates to wire drawing, wire winding, tinsel spinning, wire enamelling and like machines in which wire or the like has tobe wound in layers on a spool. I The object of the invention is to provide an improved speed-regulating mechanism for such machines whereby the speed of rotation of the spool may be adjusted to a suitable new value as each succeeding layer is added to the winding thereon in order to ensure a constant speed of absorption of the wire or other product being wound and a constant tension therein.

According to this invention the spool winding the wire or the like is driven by an infinitely variable speed gear and the means oscillating a guide arm serving to direct the wire to the spool is arranged to adjust the ratio of the infinitely variable gear step by step in such manner as to reduce slightly the rate of rotation of the spool as each new layer is commenced.

The form of infinitely variable speed gear employed is preferably that comprising two oppositely coned pulleys coupled by an endless belt adapted to be displaced longitudinally of the pulleys by means of a belt fork in order to vary the ratio of the gear.

In the preferred construction of the speedregulating apparatus according to this invention the belt fork of such a variable speed gear is adapted to be displaced by means of a nut and lead screw combination, the lead screw being rotated in the appropriate direction, step by step, by means comprising a clutch device permitting of the. amount of said rotation being varied to suit the thickness or diameter of the wire orthe like being wound.

The application of the invention to a wire drawing machine will now be described in order that the nature thereof may be readily understood, reference being made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is an end elevation of a wire-drawing machine,

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view, to a larger scale,

1, Fig. 4 is plan view, partly in section, of the elements shown in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic front elevation of a detail in one position of the parts, and

Fig. 6 is a similar view in another position of the parts.

Figs. 7 and 8 are views similar to Figs. 3 and 4 showing a modified construction.

.. The wire winding pool I is mounted on ashaft 2 driven by an endless belt 3 running over two oppositely coned pulleys 4 and 5, belt 3 being guided by a fork constituted by a jockey pulley 6 carried by a nut I mounted on a lead screw 8 having a quick pitch thread. The lead screw 8 is rotatably mounted in a suitable manner so that it extends parallel with the axes of the conedpulleys 4 and 5 and has secured thereon at a suitable point in its length, preferably on an unthreaded end thereof, a concentric wheel 9 10 (Figs. 3 to 6) which is surrounded by an eccentrically disposed laterally extending internal cam rim or flange Illa formed on a second wheel Ill which is secured to one end of a sleeve I 0b loosely mounted on an unthreaded portion of the said 5 screw 8.

In the space between the outer periphery of the concentrically mounted wheel 9 and the inner periphery or cam surface of the concentrically disposed rim or flange Illa there is disposed a roller II which is rotatable freely between two laterally extending lugs I2 carried by an arm I3 extending radially from a bearing 1 boss I30 by which it is loosely mounted on the lead screw 8. The roller II is of such diameter that its periphery is adapted to contact with the surfaces of both the outer periphery of the concentric wheel 9 and the inner periphery or cam surface of the eccentric rim Illa at a point substantially midway between that at which the space between said surfaces is widest and that at which said space is narrowest, and the normal setting of the parts is that in which the roller I I is so in contact whie the arm I3 carrying same is inclined upwardly somewhat from the horizontal and the widest part of the said space is disposed substantially vertically above the lead screw 8 (see Fig. 6).

At its outer or free end, which extends beyond the laterally extending lugs I2 confining the roller II, the said arm I3 may be suitably weighted at I3 (Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6) if its own weight should require this augmentation, the weight preferably being adjustable along the arm, and a stop I4, adjustable by means of the screw I5 and lock-nut I6, is provided to co -act with the arm in limiting the downward movement thereof under the action of the weight.

On the sleeve IIlb of the wheel Ill formed with the eccentric rim or flange I0a above referred to there is secured adjustably, as by a split band I! drawn tight by a bolt I8, a radially projecting arm I9 engaging the upper end of a pushrod 20, the lower end of which is articulated to the one arm 2l of a two-armed lever 2|, 22.

The other arm 22 of said lever carries a roller 23 adapted to run in a cam groove 24 having a snail-cam formation with two steps disposed 180 apart, said cam groove being formed in the end face of a barrel cam 25 employed to oscillate the guide arm 26 (Figs. 1 and 2) relatively to the spool I winding the wire leaving the final wire-drawing pulley 21, in order to layer the wire on said spool.

The angular disposition of the steps of the snail-cam groove 24 relatively to the cam 25 oscillating the guide arm 26 is such that the roller 23 co-acting with the snail-cam groove 24 has always reached the crest of a rise in the latter just as the guide arm 26 is approaching the one or other end of its travel.

During the depression of the roller 23 by a rise on the snail-cam groove 24, the wheel Ill carrying the eccentrically disposed rim Illa is rotated freely about the lead screw 8 in such a direction (counterclockwise from the position shown in Fig. 6) that the widest part of the space between the inner periphery of the said rim Ifla and the outer periphery of the wheel 9 secured on the lead screw 8, is displaced downwardly (Fig. from its normal position (Fig. 6), which latter view corresponds to the said roller bearing on the lowest point of a rise on the cam, with the result that the heavy or weighted arm I 3 swings downwardly until it is arrested by the stop I4 above referred to, the roller II being carried with said arm due to the provision of the lugs I2.

Now as the guide arm 26 reaches the end of its travel the roller 23 running in the snail-cam groove leaves the crest of the rise which depressed it and rises comparatively rapidly, whereby the eccentric rim Ida is rotated back to its normal position. During this movement of the rim, however, it tightly wedges or cams the roller II carried by the arm I3 against the outer periphery of the concentric wheel 9 on the lead screw 8 so that a rotational movement is imparted to said wheel and thus to the lead screw 8 itself. Adjustment may be effected to allow more or less idle turning of the rim IIla before it cams or wedges the roller I I against the wheel 9 and turns the lead screw 8, and thus the amount which said lead screw is turned, may be infinitely varied within limits. Such adjustment is effected by setting the stop screw I5 to vary the distance which the arm I3 and the roller II may descend. When the setting of screw I5 allows roller II to descend to the maximum, just as soon as rim IIla starts on its return or retrograde movement (from position of Fig. 5 toward that of Fig. 6), the screw 8 will be turned, and such turning will continue until said rim lea reaches the limit of said return movement. However, when screw I5 is set to allow less descent of roller II, the rim IIla will, of course, have idle movement before it causes said roller to turn the lead screw.

As will be understood, the rotation of the lead screw 8 thus produced advances the nut I thereon a predetermined distance longitudinally thereof, whereby the driving belt 3 is moved to a new position along the oppositely coned pulleys 4 and 5 and the speed of rotation of the spool I is correspondingly reduced for the winding of the next layer of wire thereon.

When it is desired to reset the speed-regulating mechanism for winding a fresh spool the lead screw 8 is rotated in the reverse direction to that in which it is fed step by step by means of a handwheel or crank 28 secured thereon.

To allow this resetting rotation of the lead screw 8, the arm I3 serving to displace the roller II need only be lifted slightly from its normal position and it is preferred to provide a spring retaining catch 29 in such a position that a pin 30 projecting laterally from the end of the arm will automatically engage therein (see Fig. 3) when so lifted, thus obviating the necessity for manually retaining the arm in the lifted position.

The stroke of the arm I3 may be accurately adjusted to any desired degree of fineness by varying the position of the stop I 4 with which it co-operates and the lead screw 8 is preferably made readily detachable so that it may be quickly replaced by another of different pitch when required.

Although reference has been made to an eccentrically disposed rim or flange in the above de scription, the clutch device described may also be constructed with the outer member mounted concentrically with the lead screw, the inner periphery of said member comprising two portions both concentric with the lead screw and of different radii, the adjacent ends of the portions being connected by comparatively short surfaces running eccentrically with respect to the said screw.

In this case the axial dimension of the annular gap between the portion of larger radius and the concentric boss on the lead screw would be slightly greater than the diameter of the roller carried by the weighted arm and the corresponding dimension of the annular gap between the portion of smaller radius and the boss would be less than said diameter.

Furthermore, although the cam shaft 3| carrying the cams 24, 25 controlling the oscillation of the guide arm 26 and effecting the variation in the speed ratio of the drive to the wire-winding spool I may be driven in the usual manner through high-ratio reduction gearing 32, 33, 34, 35 from the spool shaft 2, as seen in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, it is preferred to drive the cam shaft 3I through such gearing from a lay shaft 36 (Figs. 7 and 8) which carries a separate coned pulley 3'! and is belt-driven at 39 from the coned pulley 5 which drives, through belt 3, the coned pulley 4 on the spool shaft 2.

This necessitates two belt forks being provided on the nut 'I actuated by the lead screw 8, the one 6 engaging the belt 3 driving the spool shaft 2 and the other 38 engaging the belt 39 driving the lay shaft 36, so that the speed of the cam shaft 3| may be reduced in accordance with the reduction in the speed of the spool shaft 2.

In this manner the spool shaft is relieved of the varying load due to the operation of the cams, which fact leads to a more uniform speed of rotation of the spool shaft.

I claim:--

In a machine of the class described, a shaft provided with a spool upon which to wind wire or the like, said shaft having a cone pulley, a drive shaft parallel with the spool-carrying shaft and also having a cone pulley, a belt trained around said cone pulleys for driving said spool-carrying shaft, a lead screw mounted between and parallel with said shafts, a nut engaged with said lead screw and having means engaging said belt to shift the latter along the cone pulleys when the lead screw is turned, a traveling guide for the material being wound on the spool, means for operating said guide including a cam shaft, a second belt trained around the cone pulley of said drive shaft, a third cone pulley driven by said second belt, means driven by said third cone pulley for driving said cam shaft, means on the aforesaid nut for shifting said second belt along its cooperating pulleys as the first named belt is shifted, a. one-way clutch for turning said lead screw in a direction to so shift said belts as to decrease the speeds of said spool-carrying shaft and said cam shaft, and means actuated by said cam shaft for actuating said clutch to turn said lead screw in said direction each time said. cam shaft has effected complete travel of said guide.

SAMUEL HUGH RICHARDS. 

